For our list of 106 Jerseyans with the most juice, we went to the experts — The Star-Ledger reporters and Inside Jersey writers who cover and best know the state's movers and power brokers.

We have divided the list into an array of categories that touch on all facets of Jersey life — from politics to literature to technology and celebrity — profiling the most influential Jerseyans in each area. The lists will be released all week. It's a select group that we call the 100+ Club.

The schedule is as follows: On Monday, State Politics/Local Politics and Labor/Activism; On Tuesday, Law/Philanthropy and Business/Real Estate; On Wednesday, Technology/Health Care and Literature/Power Couples; On Thursday, Sports/Education and Arts/ Science; On Friday, Entertainment/Music and Food/Celebrity.

Read them each day and don't forget to take our informal polls at the end of each post.

Labor

Inside Jersey's Most Influential People in New Jersey

BOB McDEVITT. President, Local 54 of UniteHERE Bob McDevitt, the sometimes fiery president of Atlantic City’s main casino union since 1995, is never one to shy away from a scrum. Among his most recent high-profile battles was a skirmish with the mostly non-union Revel hotel and casino, which he claimed had siphoned away revenue from weaker casinos. He also helped lobby for the passage of New Jersey’s internet gambling bill, arguing it would keep struggling casinos open and prevent job losses. More than 10,000 casino jobs in the city were lost in the past decade and McDevitt has sought more state intervention to help stanch the flow, including an assurance that any potential Revel buyer maintain its current workforce.

DONALD NORCROSS. State Senator, Camden County Donald Norcross is the county Democratic co-chairman and president of the Southern New Jersey Central Labor Council. Perhaps of more consequence, he is the younger brother of South Jersey power broker George Norcross. Donald Norcross, who announced he is running for Congress to fill the 1st District seat vacated by Rob Andrews in February, already has been backed by several powerful Democrats, including fellow labor leader and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney. While Norcross has long avoided touting his powerful political bloodlines, that may prove more critical than the years he has said have been spent “fighting for middle class families, senior citizens and workers.”

HETTY ROSENSTEIN. State Director, Communications Workers of America As head of New Jersey’s largest state workers union, Hetty Rosenstein flexed her muscles in late January by standing with state Senate President Stephen Sweeney when he vowed to shut down the state government if Gov. Chris Christie didn’t support a budget containing a promised payment into the public employee pension. In this year's budget address, Christie said he would provide that payment. Among her most notable recent achievements, Rosenstein helped to successfully lobby for limits on the number of cases that a worker from the Department of Children and Families could be assigned.

MILLY SILVA. Executive Vice President, Service Employees International Union 1199 The former Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, Milly Silva represents nearly 8,000 long-term care workers. She upped her profile considerably in last year’s unsuccessful campaign, but also came in for criticism because she had never held public office and hadn’t voted in several elections. What she has done is fight well-publicized battles against health companies in disputes with their workers and rail against Gov. Chris Christie and former Gov. Jon Corzine, both of whom attempted to cut funding for nursing homes.

CHARLES WOWKANECH. President, New Jersey chapter of AFL-CIO Charles Wowkanech, president of the state’s largest labor organization since 1997, has — in the last year — lobbied for an extension of federal unemployment benefits and for approval of a statewide referendum to raise the minimum wage. Voters overwhelmingly passed the pay measure in November. A dogged advocate for his causes, Wowkanech is now helping to spearhead the passage of a statewide law that would guarantee earned sick leave for all workers.

Activism

LAWRENCE HAMM. Chairman, People’s Organization for Progress Lawrence Hamm raised his voice in a student protest against Newark’s teacher’s strike in 1971 and hasn’t stopped. Hamm, chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress in Newark, has been on the frontline of protests large and small — in the city and across the state — lending equal parts eloquence and passion to the plight of disenfranchised minorities, low-paid workers, families of murder victims and anyone else who has been sidelined by society. Hamm, now 60, shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

THE REV. DeFOREST “BUSTER” SOARIES JR. Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens The Rev. DeForest “Buster” Soaries Jr. is best known these days as the man who intervened for Rutgers cornerback Jevon Tyree, when he said he was being bullied by defensive coordinator Dave Cohen. But the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset and the former New Jersey secretary of state has a long history of good works. Soaries has recruited hundreds of families to become foster parents to abandoned babies, helped hundreds of children get adopted and expanded his church’s membership to more than 7,000.

JEFF TITTEL. Director, New Jersey Sierra Club When concerns were raised that pharmaceuticals threatened the state’s drinking water, Jeff Tittel questioned whether the Great Falls in Passaic County might soon be called “Viagra Falls.” He’s known for the one-liner. “I can take complex issues and explain them simply,” Tittel says. The former political operative remains one of the state’s best-known lobbyists for environmental causes. Legislators listen to him. The administration ignores him. “I think we’ve been the one group standing up to Christie’s environmental rollbacks,” he says.

KEVIN D. WALSH. Associate Director, Fair Share Housing Center Ever since Hurricane Sandy struck, Kevin Walsh and the Fair Share Housing Center, a Cherry Hill-based group advocating for affordable housing, has been battling the Christie administration over the $1.8 billion recovery effort. “We’ve shown just how bad things are, how mismanaged they are — and shared that information with the public. Hopefully, we’ll be able to make it work,” he says. “Right now, it’s not helping people very much.”

CECILIA ZALKIND. Executive Director, Advocates for Children of New Jersey If the issue has to do with children, Cecelia Zalkind is on the case. A regular at Trenton hearings, Zalkind focuses on everything from quality pre-school to college access, health-care initiatives, foster care improvements and solutions to the juvenile justice system. She’s argued before the state Supreme Court, gone toe-to-toe with lawmakers, and counseled families and family advocates for more than three decades.